An Empty Lunch
by ninjadevil2000
Summary: Missing scene from Avengers Endgame. Steve, Scott, and Natasha have lunch with Tony, Pepper, and Morgan at the cabin.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. But I wish I had Peter and Tony. **

**Author's Note: What's up? So I feel like I'm either going to self-combust with too many idea or die from a broken heart because I'm hurting myself by writing this stuff. LOL. Ah well. Whatever's faster, you know? :) I hope you like this story. I like to think that Steve, Scott, and Nat stayed for lunch when Tony invited them, so here's my headcanon of what happened. I hope you enjoy. Hope you like it. Thanks. :)**

**And I'm always open to prompts so feel free to drop them off along with a review. :)**

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_"__Look, the table's set for six –" Tony began, but Steve interrupted._

_"__Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you; I really am," he said, his eyes flicking to Morgan then back at Tony. "But this is a second chance."_

_"__I've got my second chance right here, Cap," Tony said, and Steve saw how he tightened his hold on Morgan. "Can't roll the dice on it." He looked around at the others. "If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch."_

Tony turned and walked inside the cabin, and Steve followed him, Natasha and Scott behind him. Tony knelt down, letting Morgan jump out of his arms and pad off into the kitchen.

"It really is a beautiful home," Natasha said. Steve saw her admiring the home with a sad smile.

"Thanks, Nat," Tony said.

"Hi, guys," Pepper greeted happily as the group entered the kitchen. She came forward and embraced Nat eagerly, then Steve. "It's nice to see you two again."

"Pepper, this is Scott," Tony said, gesturing to the latter. "He's Ant-Man, and apparently he's been stuck in the Quantum Realm for the last five years." Tony said the words plainly, as though it was a normal thing for him to hear.

_Well, _Steve thought._ It's not as crazy as some of the things he's heard._

Pepper seemed a bit shocked, but brushed it off.

"How've you been, Pepper?" Steve asked.

Pepper nodded. "I've been good, Steve. What about you?" she asked gently.

He just nodded in response.

Pepper gave him a small smile. "Well," she said to the room at large. "Lunch is almost ready. It's just sandwiches and a salad."

"Are there gojis in the salad?" Morgan asked, bouncing on her feet and looking at Pepper eagerly.

Pepper looked down at her daughter in mock annoyance. "Well, there would be, little miss, except someone's alpaca went and ate them all."

Morgan giggled and the adults around her laughed.

"Go on," Pepper said, shooing the little girl away. "Go wash your hands then you can come eat."

Morgan frowned but did as her mother said.

Steve smiled as the little girl ran upstairs. "She's a great kid, Pep," he said.

"Thanks, Steve," Pepper said.

They all laughed again as Pepper led the way into the dining room. "Let me grab the salad and we can eat," she said. She returned after a second, salad in hand, and Morgan sat down next to her.

It was a tasty lunch, and with personalities like Tony's, Morgan's, and Scott's, there were quite a few laughs, and Steve laughed more that day than he probably had in months. The tension in the household eased after a few minutes, but the emptiness lingered. A sign that there should be more people sitting around the table, but no one had the courage to face that emptiness, so they tried to brush it away. Still though, it remained there, hidden in the back of all their minds.

After lunch had ended, everyone filled the others in on what had happened in their lives recently as well as answering Scott's many questions.

When Pepper mentioned that she had some ice cream in the freezer, Scott and Morgan both jumped at the chance to have some. Pepper smiled at them and stood up, taking a few of the plates to the kitchen. Steve followed her with his own plate. After setting the dishes by the sink, Pepper took a carton of ice cream from the freezer and grabbed an ice cream scooper before returning to the dining room.

As Steve set the plates in his hands down by the sin, he made to return to the dining room, but his eyes caught sight of a nearby shelf. On it were a few glasses, and two framed photographs. One was of Howard Stark, Tony's father. And the other . . .

The other picture showed Tony smiling broadly, and standing next to him was Peter. Steve had only met the kid a couple of times. The first when they had fought at the airport all those years ago, and the second when the team had needed an eye in the skies of Queens. Steve had personally made the journey to Queens, taking the chance to apologize for what had transpired during their first meeting.

Steve remembered how kind Peter had been and how he had accepted the apology, but he also remembered how Peter had fiercely defended Tony when the man's name had been mentioned.

"Hey, Steve, what's taking so long? Pepper has –" Tony had walked in. He stopped suddenly, as he saw what was in Steve's hands.

Steve looked up at him. "Tony –" he began softly.

Tony reached forward, pulling the frame from Steve's grip. "Lunch is ready," he said bluntly. He turned away, but Steve caught his arm.

"Tony," he said again. "We've got a chance to get him back. Him and everyone else."

"I –" Tony couldn't speak. His voice was thicker than it had been, and Steve could tell that he was fighting emotion. "I can't risk it," he said, looking at Steve. "I can't risk losing Pepper. I can't risk losing Morgan. I _won't_ risk it."

Steve sighed. "I know," he said sadly. He let go of Tony's arm and looked down at the floor. "And I get it; I don't want to risk it all either. Just think about it, okay?"

Tony gave a stiff nod. They stood together in silence for another minute before returning to the others.


End file.
